Ao Nehmer Update From Nvlsp

[Berta]

It is still highly possible that there are veterans and survivors out there who are eligible for retroactive Nehmer payments under the 3 new presumptives.

That is why I am posting this in Claims Research,instead of the AO forum. If any of you know of anyvet or survivor who m,ight be el;igible unfder the Nehmer court order please advise them of this info at hadit here and in ouir AO forum.

This is part of the Spring NVLSP newsletter regarding AO:

Agent Orange Class Action Update

"NVLSP's five dedicated attorneys and one paralegal continue to work on behalf of the class members of the Agent Orange class action suit (Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), achieving great success in the past year. Our goal is to continue to monitor VA compliance with the court's class action order, in hopes that all veterans and their survivors receive the benefits our government owes them.

In total we have mailed over 73,000 letters to class members and their families, and of these, about 10,000 have contacted us for assistance. We are now sending letters to surviving spouses of class members who may have been undercompensated by the VA. Our efforts help ensure that the VA properly applies the court's orders, and each member is assigned the correct effective date, and receives the proper amount of retroactive benefits.

Since last winter, NVLSP has identified about 400 more errors in the VA's Nehmer decisions, resulting in an additional $11 million dollars in compensation being awarded to deserving veterans in the past year. In total, NVLSP has identified over 800 errors, forcing the VA to pay a sum of over $16 million dollars that most class members waited years to receive.

NVLSP secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits in three cases overlooked by the VA

In addition to the class members identified by the VA, NVLSP has been contacted by a number of Vietnam veterans and their surviving family members whose VA claims should have been reviewed under the favorable Nehmer rules, but were overlooked by the VA. Currently, to be considered a class member, you must satisfy the following requirements: 1) the veteran must have served in the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975; 2) the veteran must have been diagnosed or passed away from either ischemic heart disease (IHD), Parkinson's disease, and/or chronic B-cell leukemia; and 3) the veteran or their surviving family members must have filed a claim for VA disability or death benefits prior to August 31, 2010 for any of those three conditions. Due to the self-reporting efforts of Vietnam veterans and veterans service organizations such as The American Legion, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the Vietnam Veterans of America, these claims were brought to the attention of the staff attorneys in NVLSP's Nehmer Lawsuit Division. Who knows what the status of their claims would be had they never contacted NVLSP, but thanks to the steadfast efforts of our attorneys, the VA paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements owed to these veterans and survivors.

• "The widow of a Vietnam veteran contacted NVLSP for help with her claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). When she initially contacted NVLSP, she believed that she filed her DIC claim soon after the veteran died in 1983 from ischemic heart disease - a disability recently associated with Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. If she filed in 1983 and if the claim had been decided before September 25, 1985, it would not have been considered viable under the Nehmer lawsuit as only Agent Orange claims pending on or after that date are covered under the Court's orders. In other words, she would have been ineligible for retroactive benefits. Nevertheless, our attorneys looked into her case and found that she misremembered her filing date, and actually filed in September of 1985! NVLSP's detective work provided her with a new effective date back to the date of her claim and a retroactive payment of almost $250,000!

• NVLSP worked for six years on a claim for a widow of a Vietnam veteran who died of an Agent Orange-related illness, starting with the Nehmer lawsuit and progressing from the regional office to the BVA to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and back to the regional office. Finally, after six years of work, NVLSP convinced the VA of the veteran's proper diagnosis and disability rating during his lifetime, resulting in over $160,000 in accrued benefits paid to the widow. The widow is now using her newly-received DEA benefits to return to school.

• A veteran who suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer due to his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam received over $100,000 in retroactive benefits after he was granted service connection.

NVLSP's work brings overdue Christmas gift to a disabled veteran.

• On Christmas morning 2012, a veteran had less than a dollar left in his bank account. By that evening, he had deposited into his account over $50,000 in retroactive benefits, due a settlement obtained by NVLSP which reversed a previous decision that had reduced his disability rating. The veteran was able to go out and buy last-minute Christmas gifts for his grandchildren."

(More info to follow,as soon as I get time, on other NVLSP programs that are important to veterans.)

[treysnonna]

Berta,  I promise to get copies of info I said.  But after reading thes post about Nemer,  I think my hubby may qualify.   He filed  for aortic regurgitation,  aortic stenosis / ihd secondary to diabetes, remember it was denied.  I was looking back at old records and I found an old ekgfrom 2009 that says possible infraction.  It was from his private doctor. Now I don't know if th va contacted him or not.  Got to do farther investigation on this.  Now I do know that nemer did look at it,  but I do not think they saw any of this.  I got these from our family doc about three years ago.  Now if they had seen this ekg,  would have turned out different.. I'm still thinking of reopening this.

[FrankieG23]

Thanks Berta for this info. I just got a call from NVLSP, an hour before your posting. The person replied to an email I had sent them a few days ago. He said they were extremely busy and refered me to a local organization they may help my husband, it was the Purple Heart Veterans. He was very nice, just very busy. . My husband's situation is not being NSC for the IHD, on initial claim 7/2001 for DMII and hypertension. The review of material used for evidence from back then listed the hospital where he may have had possible heart attack at. During recent claim from 10/2010 Nehmer was denied, Denial came in May of 2012. I have to do something about this before May right? His VSO told husband, when he went before RO, that there is a letter from hospital that stated "may or may not have had heart attack. Huh?

[Berta]

"My husband's situation is not being NSC for the IHD"

Same here...my husband was never listed as NSC for IHD, nor diagnosed or treated for it.

I had proved it however under my FTCA and Section 1151awards and received Nehmer retro ,under Footnote one.

"I have to do something about this before May right? " Yes, file a Notice of Disagreement.

"His VSO told husband, when he went before RO, that there is a letter from hospital that stated "may or may not have had heart attack. Huh? "

Thats what I say .....Huh?????

You need a copy of that letter.

The best evidence of IHD is the results of an ECHO and/or a METs test.

Have you obtained all of his private medical records as well as VA records?

Did they deny ,saying he doesn't have IHD? or do you mean they denied him because there was no retro due under Nehmer?

An EKG itself can reveal evidence of a heart attack. The hospital surely did an EKG.

Although my husband was not properly diagnosed or treated for a heart attack he suffered while working at the VA, the VA did do an EKG the same day and then years later they did an ECHO.

The EKG was evidence of the heart attack.It stated "probable inferior infarction" and the graph leads were indicative of heart damage.

I did extensive research when I FTCAed the VA and studied cardiology.

I found evidence of heart disease even in his blood work....

The word "Probable",if the letter involved an EKG ,could mean maybe, maybe not.

It is the EKG itself, compared to any other EKGs if available, and the pattern and movements the leads take on the graph that can reveal what really happened that day.

I believe however that a ECHO is the best indicator of IHD. Was an ECHO ever done?

[FrankieG23]

Hi Berta

Problem is we don't have hospital records from 2001, and hospital doesn't have them. all I remember is that he had chest pain, was confused, sweating, and throwing up. Test showed elevated heart enzymes. Doctors told me they thought he had heart attack. We never sent in records from hospital ourselves, just listed the hospital as place for VA to get records from when they sent assist letter.which they did as hospital shows up under "records we receved" Hospital visit was after making claim in July 2001. I called hospital, maybe i should just go down there. He was denied Nehmer retro, letter said there is no evidence of IHD prior to getting it as secondary to DMII, in 2003. Ahh, but you have given me an idea, maybe a copy exists in the EKG dept, maybe I can back door search for medical records. Not sure about Echo. Do you think, I'll have a problem getting C-file as husband has started new claim?

[Berta]

His new claim might well take time so I would see about getting copies of his C file and all available med recs.

If an EKG exists,from 2001, that could be a critical piece of evidence.

[FrankieG23]

Thanks, Berta Will look into it